Anyone ever tried Spinal Decompression Therapy?

[Warthaug]

Thanks for the info BTravlin and Dr. Steven.

Anyone else have any experience with Spinal Decompression Therapy?

My MD and physiotherapist both warned me against it. I do not know if that was a general concern, or something to do with the specific injury to my back. I did not have a disk issue; rather a muscle issue, so its quite a different injury than waht you're looking for help for.

Bryan

 

[waitely]

I have a good friend who had 23 of these treatments. The cost was about $4600. Extended health covers a fraction of this. While the treatments brought relief they did not correct the problem. Yes, the pain in her case did return so I would conclude that the treatments only controlled the pain not rid her of it.
I have a good friend who had 23 of these treatments. The cost was about $4600. Extended health covers a fraction of this. While the treatments brought relief they did not correct the problem. Yes, the pain in her case did return so I would conclude that the treatments only controlled the pain not rid her of it.

My only caveat is that I when I asked if she had been receiving "spinal decompression therapy" she is not familiar with the "LCD" part of your description

 

[jar546]

I too have an old back injury that involves the spine in the lower lumbar area. I purchased an inversion table at K-Mart for $79 and utilize it whenever I have discomfort. After about 5 minutes on the inversion table, I feel great and the "temporary" relief lasts for a few hours, sometimes the day depending on the type of work I am doing.

It does relieve some of the pressure on the affected disks and also allows stretching of the muscles in that area that sometimes cramp up.

Is it definitive treatment? No
Does it help? Yes, at a very minimal cost

 

[Dsix36]

MIne was in my neck rather than my back.

I was put in a chair and a harness was put around my head and a machine would exert 40lb of pull on my neck, hold a moment, release and then do it again. This would last for about 20 minutes. I felt great afterwards and the pain was gone. The releif would last for 2-3 hours before creeping back.

I set up my own method at home to "stretch" my neck while sitting and watching TV.

I was scheduled and approved for surgery, but this prevented it. I still am very careful with my actions and have made adjustment to how I sleep, and hold my head in general.

My herniations (C6 and C7) indicated partial to full paralzsis and all of the symptoms are gone now.

I am not a doctor and this is definitely not medical advice. Just telling about my experience..

 

[novicediver]

It looks and smells like quackery. Of course this is solely my opinion. I am lucky that I have not had any problems with my back.

 

[Cave Diver]

I recently injured my back and my physician referred me to a physical therapist. I had a bulging disc. Not fully herniated but headed that way. Among many other things, he did use a form of spinal decompression therapy with me. I would lie face down on a table. There was a harness around my upper body that secured me to the front half of the table. There was another harness around my waist that was secured to the back half of the table and a machine which applied force to the lower harness. This procedure ranged from 10 to 20 minutes and towards the end the machine was applying 85 pounds of force. I was in agony when I first started therapy with pain rating 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst. I always felt much better after my sessions on the rack. Is this the type of therapy you're inquiring about?

Several years ago my mom underwent this type of treatment. It also included some time with heat applied, electrostimulation and cold packs (I can't recall the order, but some was done prior to treatment, some done after).

She did treatments 3 times a week and saw significant improvements almost immediately. She has bulging discs, bone spurs, osteoporosis.

She wouldn't hesitate to repeat the procedures, but currently the closest facility that offers this and takes her insurance is 2 hours away.

 

[TSandM]

I had a discussion with my chiropractor about this the other day. He said there are now fairly good data that the method is useful, but it is most beneficial for patients within 6 months of the original symptoms. The longer the problem has existed, the less likely this modality is to help. However, the patients who respond apparently get long-term relief in an acceptable number of cases, and there is no downside.

He does not have the machine and does not refer for the therapy, but when his own wife had a disc herniation, they went through the treatment and she had a good result.

It IS expensive (he estimated more in the 10K range around here) and is not covered by insurance.

 

[BTravlin]

Wow, hard to believe the therapy costs that much. Nifty little machine that applies the force but it can't be all that expensive. Just another reason health inusrance is sky high.

Lesson to all those reading this. Do not lift heavy objects and then twist at the waist to throw or place the object. My doc said this was a leading cause of back injuries. Lift the weight and then turn using your feet and legs to place the object where you want it. The twisting at the waist under load is what strains the discs in your back.

You don't want to miss out on any diving due to carelessness.

 

[jaiebo]

i have had this thearpy (cervical traction as it was called) basically pulls up on the head while sitting. i was diagnosed with a c5 c6 herniation. this treatment definatly worked for me. i belive in enough that a got a rig to use on my own at home. any time i have symptoms i strap my head in and hang for a little (about 10 min) i also bought an inversion table to treat some undiagnosed lower back issues. it also works well. if i where you i would give it a try. it does not work for every body but it does work

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I have had good success with the techniques in Pain Free by Pete Egoscue. You can get the book for a few bucks and the e-cises are easy to do. I took pictures of myself front back side etc and could see my posture improve and almost immediately my pain began to subside.

Amazon.com: Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain (9780553379884): Pete Egoscue, Roger Gittines: Books